Whiteladies Road chosen for Showcase bus route
One of Bristol’s busiest streets has been chosen for a new Showcase bus route.
Whiteladies Road has been picked for the upgraded service which promises new buses that run on time.
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Whiteladies Road
Bus firm First will provide bus stops that show the actual time the next bus will arrive.
The A4 Bath Road and the A432 Fishponds Road are also set to be converted into Showcase bus routes as part of a £70-million scheme to improve bus services in the Bristol area.
But there are fears that the new Showcase routes will lead to the loss of on-street parking.
Local businesses in Old Market say they have suffered since parking was limited on the new Showcase 2 bus route, which opened in late 2007.
Last July the Post reported on a proposal to spend £540,000 to redesign the junction at the top of Blackboy Hill.
Shop owners complained that the change in parking arrangements would harm their businesses by driving away customers who visited the shops by car.
After planning processes and official consultations, work could start later this year and be complete by 2011.
But with the road narrowing at Blackboy Hill, traders have again expressed fears that one lane of parking spaces, if not on both sides of the road, could be sacrificed to make way for new bus lanes.
And they have called on the city council to discuss the proposals with them at the earliest possible opportunity.
The Post visited shops in Blackboy Hill yesterday to talk to traders about their views on the scheme.
Few of them had even heard of Showcase bus routes, let alone the prospects of having one coming past their shop fronts.
Tammy Niblett, owner of Global Furniture, has been running her shop for two years and pays around £7,200 a year in business rates.
She said: “I would usually come in to work just before I open up at 9am but I have to be in by 8am just to get a parking space. It’s horrendous and there’s nowhere else to park.
“We’ve not been spoken to by the council at all about this new bus route. I’m not surprised but I’m a bit annoyed because it feels like we are left out of the loop all the time.
“Life’s tough enough for small businesses at the moment so it would be a nightmare for us if people couldn’t park outside any more. It’s not like you can take furniture home with you on a bus.
“It seems like the new city centre is the priority for everything, while smaller areas like this are just left behind.”
Passenger figures on the first two Showcase bus routes – on the A38 from Henbury to Hartcliffe and on the A420 from the city centre to Kingswood – have risen by more than 10 per cent since they were introduced.
At the same time, the number of cars using the routes has dropped by several thousand.
The West of England Partnership, a body which represents the four councils in the former Avon area and which is putting forward a raft of transport improvements, hopes for similar figures on the latest routes.
Mark Bradshaw, transport executive member for Bristol City Council, said: “Each time we do a corridor we learn something new and I think that on Showcase 2 we learned that street improvement and improving the environment is equally as important as new vehicles.
“Improvements to road junctions are also a key issue. We need to explain the rationale for our proposals, whether it’s introducing traffic signals or changing junctions. These are contentious schemes and not everyone will agree with them but I’m keen to put a much stronger emphasis on why we are doing each scheme.
“Whiteladies Road looks to be the next Showcase bus route that we are going to do and we need to decide on the programme of that relatively soon.
“It’s an interesting one for us because it’s so different from the routes which we have done so far.
“It’s a very busy road and there are a number of safety issues regarding cyclists and pedestrians which we need to look at.
“In some parts of the route there is ample space but in others it is very tight so we need to work out how we can put in a reliable bus corridor while catering for pedestrians and cyclists at the same time.
“There are historic locations which are on the route so we have to think about those as well.
“But it’s very much more than a bus lane. It’s about enhancing the area as well.”
27 Comments
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by Lord Clifton, Clifton
Monday, February 23 2009, 10:27PM
“TRAM NOT BUS. PLEASE. SOON.”
by Shelly, Bristol
Friday, February 20 2009, 12:17PM
“Mark.
You can't blame the Tories for everything that has gone wrong. We have had a labour gov't for 12 years and things are worse not better. When will you learn that it doesn't matter who we get they will all shaft us one way or another!”
by mark, bristol
Friday, February 20 2009, 11:06AM
“When is everyone going to realise that First Group have a monoploy on transport in the region and all 'solutions' to transport in this city revolve around buses. Trams are never even considered, despite being successful elsewhere.
Bristol City Council are obsessed with buses.
Another 'funny' co-incidence that First group will be running this service.
Personally, i blame anyone who voted Tory in the last 25 years. Their transport policy was to privatise public transport (result:loss of unprofitable bus routes in rural areas) and allow unrestricted car growth.”
by Charlie, City Centre
Friday, February 20 2009, 9:28AM
“What happens outside the Blackboy Inn? a very narrow 2 lane part of the route with a pedestrian island in the middle? My guess, no entry for anything but the flaming buses, chaos to the surrounding streets will result. This just isn't feasible and I can't wait to see it up and running, What a joke, and as for the cow herds! BCC is a joke.”
by Dave, Bristol
Thursday, February 19 2009, 10:43PM
“I live on the original Showcase route (Hartcliffe - Henbury) and the service from the drivers is abysmal, you get rude drivers in casual uniform chewing gum and driving like maniacs, mountin kerbs and pulling up behind staionary traffic with like an inch or two to spare (what if their feet slipped off the brake or they get shunted from behind?) the drivers threaten to throw you off if you dont insert your chewed up weekly pass into a machine (they can tap a button on the machine to 'count' a pass holder) and the 'real time updates' are out for large parts or are wrong altogether with their information.”
by Steve, Bristol
Thursday, February 19 2009, 10:40PM
“Ah now it all makes sense why those council-operated "speed cameras" were put in place on Whiteladies Road They'll be used to nick people driving in the bus lane. Yet another tax on the motorist.
Instead of spending ludicrous sums of money subsidising First's operation (and boosting their fat profits) why not use the money on something useful like the bike hire system they have in Barcelona. Short term bike hire for next to nothing instead of propogating this myth that buses are going to save the planet
Still I suppose there is nothing to stop a cyclist or two using the lane... bikes can go very slowly”
by Steve, Redcliffe
Thursday, February 19 2009, 7:28PM
“Fares are coming down when buses stop wasting fuel sitting in congestion. First don't make any profits out of Bristol -- just look at their balance sheet. The only way any improvements to buses will ever come is if they can travel faster than the current snails pace, sat in long queues of traffic.”
by Steve, Bristol
Thursday, February 19 2009, 6:10PM
“Bradshaw, just stop it, for goodness sake!
We're not interested in this guff - just tell us what virtually everyone that travels by bus wants to hear:
WHEN ARE THE PRICES COMING DOWN?
First blamed their last fare rise on the high price of fuel, well, that's been substantially lower for about 6 months now, so where's the reduction?
And that rubbish about Showcase buses increasing patronage. The Henbury to Hartcliffe route has increased by about 10% - over 5 years! that's 2% per year - lamentable!
Last year, patronage on both Showcase routes actually declined by 2% because First keep putting their fares up.
So many more people would use buses if they were more on a par with other UK cities, or even, heaven forbid, other European cities.
It really isn't rocket science but our local politicians are so impotent and beholden to First that they never, ever, ever mention fares.”
by craig, bristol
Thursday, February 19 2009, 5:58PM
“"Life¿s tough enough for small businesses at the moment so it would be a nightmare for us if people couldn¿t park outside any more. It¿s not like you can take furniture home with you on a bus."
I am sure Mark Bradshaw couldn't care less about local business provided he reaches his targets for improving the profitabilty of worst bus.”
by Ron, Bristol
Thursday, February 19 2009, 5:44PM
“By the way doesn't Mark Bradshaw talk complete & utter tosh?
He sounds a thrill a minute, you'd move house if he moved in to your street.”